Newest Tips

Warning: This tip accesses the registry and MUST be used with extreme care!

Ever notice how Microsoft likes to put “product keys” on all their software? Well, what do you do if you’ve lost yours and you need re-install the software? I suppose you could call Microsoft and ask them for help. Yeah right!

Here’s another solution: If the program is still on your machine… Continue reading

If you are a good typist, you probably find it annoying to hop constantly between the keyboard and your mouse. I find it irritating and I’m not even that great of a typist! So, here are a couple of ways to help keep your fingers safely at the keyboard.

Here’s a trick for generating a “right-click” from your keyboard. Make sure your

Q: I have been getting your newsletter in my email for a while now. I found some great software and I have really learned alot. But I stopped getting the newsletter and wondered why?

A: As the anti-spam frenzy heightens, this complaint becomes more common. Sure we want less spam, but at what cost? Legitimate email that you want to read is not getting to you, vanishing into… Continue reading

Do you have more than one computer but only one printer? If you have the computers networked together, you can enable printer sharing on the computer with the printer. This is done under the Network icon in the Control Panel .

Then, install the networked printer you created above on the second computer. You do this from the Printers folder in My Computer ( XP users… Continue reading

Q: I want to install a new printer. Do I need to remove my old one first?

A: Nope. Windows supports multiple printers, so you can install the new printer without removing the old one. If you really want to ax the old one, click the Start button, Settings, Printers . Your printer screen will open up. Right-click the printer you want eliminated and select Delete from the… Continue reading

Yeah, I know, this doesn’t really seem like an overly exciting topic today, but I think it’s well worth a mention. Seems like every time someone hands me his or her camera to take a photo, the lens looks like it’s been dipped into a shop vac.

First off, a clean lens is an essential ingredient to great photos. A lens that’s full of smudges, dirt, or… Continue reading

Nope, this isn’t an article explaining how to go out on the street and flash unsuspecting victims, but I couldn’t resist the title

OK, over the last three weeks or so, we’ve been poking around in some of the more intermediate and advanced areas of digital photography, so I thought we’d go with something easier this week—Flash Modes.

A histogram is a graphical representation of the light values of the image. Yeah, I know, that really helps. Many newer digicams include a histogram display, and it’s actually one of the most useful features you can have on a digital camera.

First off, let’s look at a picture of one:

Wait, don’t stop reading! I know, I know, it looks confusing, but just hang… Continue reading

Have you ever shot an outdoor scene and had it come out a little too light or a little too dark? Yup, it happens to all of us at one time or another. For whatever reason, the camera misreads the scene and your exposure is all wrong.

So, what do you do when you look at the LCD panel and the photo you just shot is too light… Continue reading

With autumn here already (where, exactly, did summer go?), we’ve been getting lots of requests for fall color tips. So, when you venture out this season to grab some brightly colored autumn imagery, keep this in mind:

1. Shoot during good light — we’ve been talking about his for the last couple weeks, so I’m not going to get too detailed. Suffice to say that… Continue reading